How to Play Sharks and Minnows

Learning the Basics

Pick a Shark. Choose a player to be the Shark. This player is now “it” and stands in the center of the pool (the “ocean”). When playing with a lot of people in a large area, you can play with more than one Shark. 10 Minnows to 1 Shark is a good ratio. If many people want to be the Shark you can decide by flipping a coin, or playing rock, paper, scissors.

Have many Minnows. Everyone who isn't a Shark is a Minnow. Minnows form a line at one end of the pool deck, facing the Shark. There should be at least twice as many Minnows as Sharks.

Start the game. To start, the Shark yells, "fishy, fishy, cross my ocean", or some variation of that. When the Minnows hear this call, they jump into the pool and start to make their way to the opposite end. The Shark must remain in place above water until the next call. Experienced swimmers can challenge themselves by requiring players to dive, cannonball, or can-opener into the pool.

Playing the Game

Avoid the Shark. Once everyone is in the water the Shark yells, "Sharks and Minnows!" or "Shark attack!" at any time to start “tagging” players. When the Shark yells this, the Minnows' goal is to reach the other end of the pool without being tagged by the Shark. If the Shark tags a Minnow, that Minnow becomes a Shark and joins the Shark's team. They now begin tagging Minnows to turn them into Sharks. When the Minnows have made it to the other side of the pool without being tagged, they wait. The Shark calls “fishy, fishy...” again and they try to return to the other side of the pool. The original Shark calls, "Shark Attack" and the process repeats.

Play until there is a winner. The last remaining Minnow is the winner. This player becomes the Shark in the next round. It becomes harder as more and more Minnows become Sharks. The game lasts until there is only one Minnow left. If you started out with more than one Shark, the last two Minnows become the next Sharks.

Start with a new Shark. Begin the next game with the winner from the last round, the new Shark. They now stand in the center of the pool and the Minnows line up on the pool deck facing the Shark. Let the game begin.

Trying Variations

Make new tagging rules. Once you've become an expert at the game you can add your own rules to enhance it. Make it a rule that the Shark can only tag Minnows who have their head above water. It's fun to challenge yourself but never put your life in danger. Be cautious and make sure swimmers can make it from one side of the pool to the other in one breath.

Have more than one Shark. Add more Sharks so the Minnows have to swim faster and be more creative to get to the other side without being tagged.

Choose different animals. Instead of Sharks and Minnows, you can use Cat and Mouse, Cheetah and Gazelle, or Fox and Rabbit.

Play on dry land. If you don't have access to a pool, or if the pool is too crowded to play, move to a field or gym. This version is played year-round and can usually accommodate more players. Make sure to swap your swim trunks for sneakers. Cones, tape, or basketball court lines are used to mark the boundaries. These will be the spots where players will start and end. If you want to minimize contact, you can have players tuck a towel into their shorts, to act as a “tail.” Instead of tagging players, the Shark will pull their tail.

Make your Shark blind. Have the Shark close their eyes or turn their back until they hear a Minnow swimming. They must tag players by following their sounds. In this version, Minnows can exit the pool and try to walk to the other end of the pool without being seen or heard. If the Shark does hear them then the Shark will yell, "fish out of water" and the Minnow must start over.

Add obstacles. Place pool floats around the pool. If a player bumps into one, send them back to the beginning or make them sit through a time out.

Transform extra Sharks into seaweed. In this version, instead of becoming Sharks when tagged, players become seaweed. They must stay still and can only reach as far as arm's length to tag other Minnows who then become seaweed as well. If a seaweed touches a Shark, it turns back into a Minnow and can continue swimming to the end of the pool.